Helen Mirren has addressed the comments criticizing her casting as Israeli prime minister Golda Meir. Mirren, who is not Jewish, defended her casting and shared that Israeli film director Guy Nattiv had insisted that she play the role in his upcoming biopic "Golda."
"[Meir] is a very important person in Israeli history," Mirren said per Variety. "I said, 'Look Guy, I'm not Jewish, and if you want to think about that, and decide to go in a different direction, no hard feelings. I will absolutely understand.' But he very much wanted me to play the role, and off we went."
